Leila Hyams (May 1, 1905 – December 4, 1977) was an American model, vaudeville and film actress, who came from a show business family. Mr. Berg began his career in Hollywood as a talent agent at practically the same time that Miss Hyams began her career as a film actress.She was under contract to Warner Brothers, but after her husband had taken a number of his clients to M.G.M., hie was able to get her a contract with that studio and she made the classic, “Alias Jimmy Valentine.”She was featured in films with such leading actors as Bing Crosby, Monte Blue, John Gilbert, Edmund Lowe, Richard Dix, Robert Montgomery, Basil Rathbone, Charles Ruggles, Mary Boland, Paul Lukas, Warner Baxter, Lewis Stone, Jimmy Durante and Marie Dressler.Her 1932 film, “Freaks,” in which she acted with Wallace Ford and Olga Badsnova under the direction of Todd Browning, is still regarded as a masterpiece in the horror genre and is revived frequently.Miss Hyams and her husband were bath reportedly financially successful, and Miss Hyams was said to have retired in 1936, after “Yellow Dust,” to spend more time with her husband.TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers.This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. Leila Hyams Born May 1, 1905 New York City, New York, U.S. Died December 4, 1977 (aged 72) Bel Air, California, U.S. Flapper Hair Flapper Style Divas Vintage Makeup Vintage Beauty 1920s Makeup Belle Epoque Roaring Twenties The Twenties Mothic Flights And Flutterings gothollywood: “ Leila Hyams. Actress. Leila Hyams. Cause of death:unspecified. Hyams married her agent Phil Berg in 1927. In 1977, after a "brief illness", Hyams died at age 72 at her home in Bel-Air in Los Angeles. Although her career only lasted around twelve years, the blonde blue-eyed ingenue appeared in more than 50 film roles and remained a press favorite, with numerous magazine … For five years, she was part of their vaudeville act, and later trained for a career on the legitimate stage.But failing to get work as a stage actress, Miss Hyams turned to modeling. - IMDb Mini Biography By: mgnylander@yahoo.com (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous) Spouse (1) Died:4-Dec-1977. She made her first film in 1924, and with her blonde hair, green eyes, delicate features, and good-natured demeanor, was cast in a string of supporting roles, where she was required to do very little but smile and look pretty. Leila married Phil Berg in 1927.

In 1936, after a 12-year acting career and performing in 50 films, she retired from the motion-picture industry; nevertheless, she remained active in the Hollywood community for the rest of her life. Her relatively short film career began in the 1920s during the era of silent films and ended in 1936.

Search: All NamesLiving peopleDead peopleBand NamesBook TitlesMovie TitlesFull Textfor. She was a likable, pleasing actress with a charming presence. She was the first model in a series of bad‐breath, or “halitosis,” ads sponsored by Listerine, the mouthwash. Leila Hyams, an attractive blonde actress who was eminently successful at playing ingenues in a motion‐picture career that began in silent films in 1924 and ended in talkies in 1936, died … She also modeled clothing, cosmetics and toothpaste. Remains:Cremated (ashes scattered) Gender:Female. Jean Harlow, for example, stole Miss Hyams's husband in “Red Headed Woman.”An observer of her career said that Miss Hyams always “played a damn nice girl; she never did anything else.”She was married to Phil Berg in 1927.

She was 72 years old.Probably her best known role was as Nell Kenner, with Charles Laughton and Roland Young, in the 1935 comedy hit, “Ruggles of Red Gap,” in which she was the prettiest girl in a Western frontier town.In 12 years, she appeared in at least 34 pictures, the best known of which are “Alias Jimmy Valentine” with William Haines—Metro‐Goldwyn‐Mayer's first sound picture—“The Big House” with Wallace Beery and Chester Morris, “Red Headed Woman” with Jean Harlow, “Freaks.” “The Big Broadcast of 1932” and “Island of Lost Souls” also with Mr. Laughton.Miss Hyams was born in New York City to a well known theatrical couple, John Hyams and Leila McIntyre, known in vaudeville as Hyams and McIntyre.Reportedly, Miss Hyams spent many of her infant hours sleeping in the top of a wardrobe trunk as her parents performed on the stage. Born:1-May-1905. Leila Hyams, an attractive blonde actress who was eminently successful at playing ingenues in a motion‐picture career that began in silent films in 1924 and ended in talkies in 1936, died at her home in Bel‐Air, Calif., Sunday after a short illness. Birthplace:New York City. Leila passed away on December 4, 1977 at the age of 72 in Bel Air, California. Leila Hyams was one of the top leading ladies of the early talkie pre-code years.

She was married to agent Phil Berg for 50 years, from 1927 until her death. She was survived by her husband Phil. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.Leila Hyams, 72, ‘Golden Girl’ Of Movies in 20's and 30's, Dies

Leila Hyams Death.